From the director's desk

Dear Residence Hall Student,

It is time to submit your residence hall contract renewal request for the 2018-2019 academic year. Please take the time to read and understand this information completely. The Contract Renewal and Room Selection process is conducted online. You should review the Contract Renewal Schedule to find out your designated contract renewal date and time.

There are a few changes for the 2018-2019 academic year that may impact your housing options. Please take the time to review these changes.

Contract Renewal consists of two steps. First, beginning as early as February 1st, you will be required to file a Contract Renewal Re-Application and submit a $200 housing pre-payment. This application will allow you to request a roommate/suitemate, complete a profile for roommate matching, select a meal plan, and pay the $200 housing pre-payment. If you would like to stay in your current room for next year (if eligible) you will also be able to indicate this on the application. You will not be able to select a room without first completing this application and making the $200 housing pre-payment. If you have questions or concerns regarding this payment, please contact the Housing Assignments Center at 330-672-7021.

The second step of the Contract Renewal process is Online Room Selection. Room selection will be available to you based on a combination of criteria, including when you were first admitted to KSU, your projected class standing at the conclusion of the spring 2018 semester, and the date of your original housing application. Online Room Selection will be available in March to those students who have submitted the Contract Renewal Re-Application and made the $200 housing pre-payment. You will receive an email to your Kent State University email address that will communicate to you when you will first be able to go online in March and select a room.

Please start thinking about where and with whom you would like to live. The Online Contract Renewal Re-Application is designed to give you the opportunity to arrange your roommate request and make payment far in advance of the actual room selection.

Please read the information contained in this online booklet carefully, including the Residence Hall Contract for Room and Dining Plan for Returning Students. If you have any questions please contact us at housing@kent.edu.

Contract renewal schedule

Step 1

The Contract Renewal Re-Application is available beginning February 1, 2018 at 8:00 AM, for students to make the $200 pre-payment, request roommates, complete a profile, and select the “Same Hall/Same Room” option for next year. The class standings below (Sophomore, Returning Freshman, Junior+) are referencing what a student’s class standing will be at the conclusion of spring 2018 semester.

Step 2

Group

Start Date

Start Time

Displaced Students

March 1

9:00 AM

admitted to ksu for summer 2017 / fall 2017 / spring 2018

Sophomore 01 Housing App Between February 1- February 14

March 2

9:00 AM

Sophomore 02 Housing App Between February 15 - April 15

March 3

9:00 AM

Sophomore 03 Housing App April 16 or After

March 4

9:00 AM

Freshman 01 Housing App Between February 1 - April 15

March 5

9:00 AM

Freshman 02 Housing App April 16 or After

March 6

9:00 AM

Junior+

March 7

9:00 AM

ADMITTED TO KSU FOR SUMMER 2016 / FALL 2016 / Spring 2017 or prior

Important changes for 2018-2019

For the 2018-2019 academic year there are changes in some residence halls with respect to student eligibility and process. Please read carefully, as some of these changes could affect you. We hope that the new building configurations will provide housing accommodations that best meet your needs.

Resident Assistant Roommates:

Current RA roommates in non-first year halls are considered displaced. Any mutually agreed upon roommate pairings to remain with an RA will occur after the RA placement process during April.

Lake Hall Changes:

Lake Hall will only be available to new first-year students, similar to the halls in the Eastway Complex staring fall 2018. Current exploratory students living in Lake Hall will be considered displaced during the contract renewal process and will be able to select their room starting March 1st.

Displaced Student Definition:

It is sometimes necessary to change the eligibility requirements of our residence halls to accommodate new programs or changing demographics of our student body. When the eligibility requirements of a building or floor are altered and this action prevents a current resident of a location to be eligible for Same Hall/Same Room, the affected resident is considered “Displaced”. A displaced student is prioritized in Step 2 of the Online Contract Renewal Process, with room selection occurring following all other Same Hall/Same Room Requests. Displaced students are specified above.

Room Consolidation:

For the past several years, the residence halls have been beyond 100% capacity at the beginning of the fall semester. With very large freshmen classes, Residence Services is not always able to honor all requested roommate pairings for new applicants due to rooms that are partially filled with returning students. This also creates room pairing challenges, with many returning students who did not have a roommate at the end of the contract renewal process being assigned with an incoming freshman once incoming students are assigned.

At the conclusion of contract renewal on April 1st, any student in a multiple occupancy room with a vacancy will be invited to an event (or events) in late April to meet other students who are also seeking a roommate. The goal will be for students to find a roommate match and consolidate the space. Any students who do not attend the event(s), or do so and do not select another room/roommate may have their room selection changed by Residence Services to another space within the same residence hall they previously selected.

How it works

The Application Process

In order to be eligible to select a room, you first must submit a Contract Renewal Re-Application (available online beginning February 1st). This application will enable you to request a roommate or roommates, complete a roommate profile, and request a meal plan. The $200 housing pre-payment will be due at the time of application and is required in order to select a room at your specified priority date. Failing to apply and make payment between February 1st and February 28th may limit your housing options should you choose to select a room beginning in March. Keep in mind that no rooms are actually chosen during the re-application period, with the exception of same hall/same room requests (described below).

What should I know if I want to stay in the same room for next year?

Students interested in staying in the same room for the 2018-2019 academic year will have first preference to secure that room. Same Hall/Same Room is not an option for students living in the Eastway area, students living in Prentice Hall who are not admitted to the College of Business, students living in Stopher and Johnson Halls who are not admitted to the Honors College, students who are not CCI majors living in Olson Hall, and students living in Lake Hall. The above areas are for new incoming students or for learning communities only. Otherwise, students interested in securing their current room for fall of 2018 will be able to indicate this preference on their Contract Renewal Re-Application during the period of February 1st until February 25th at 5:00pm. Your Contract Renewal Re-application must be submitted by 5:00pm on the 25th to ensure your SH/SR preference can be honored. When selecting Same Hall/Same Room, students still will have the option to select a new roommate; this person will only become your roommate if your current spring 2018 roommate does not also select Same Hall/Same Room, your future roommate request is mutual, your requested roommate has paid his/her $200 housing pre-payment and the mutual request is completed by February 25th at 5:00 pm.

What should I know if I want to move to a different room?

Students wishing to move to a different room on campus should refer to the Contract Renewal Schedule located above. Your Contract Renewal time is based on a combination of criteria, including when you were admitted to KSU, your projected class standing at the conclusion of the spring 2018 semester and finally the original date of your housing application. Your date and time for Contract Renewal will be referenced in a Contract Renewal email that will be sent to you prior to the process beginning in February. Beginning in March, once you are able to log into Contract Renewal using your FlashLine credentials, you have the ability to select available spaces. Through the online site, you can search for a room and/or make changes to your future assignment until the end of Contract Renewal at the conclusion of March. It is better to secure a room early and continue to look for another room if you would like to make a change. There are no waiting lists as the Contract Renewal site is live 24x7 for students to view available space instantly. Contract Renewal will end on April 1 at 5:00pm and at that time all assignments for the fall semester will be finalized, pending the room consolidation process..

roommates and suitemates

Choosing a Roommate

When a student requests a roommate during the Online Contract Renewal Re-Application process, the roommate request isn’t confirmed until the other student has mutually requested the first student. To make a roommate request, you will need to provide the student’s last name and Kent State University email address. Once a request is confirmed, the first roommate to select a room in March is given the option to assign the requested roommate in the new fall room with him/her (see Example below). After the initial assignment has been made, if either roommate then changes rooms the original requested roommate request is in essence broken, and each student is individually responsible to independently move to the new space in order to be roommates in the new room. You are unable to request a new incoming student to be your roommate.

Choosing a Suitemate

For residence hall rooms/suites/apartments with more than two people (Centennial Court A-B, Centennial Courts D-F, Engleman, Johnson, Stopher, and Van Campen Halls), as long as each student in the group mutually requests each other, the first student in the group to select a room is given the option of bringing the others with him or her. At this time Twin Towers (Beall and McDowell Halls) is not able to request suitemates for the other half of the suite style setup. Residents in Twin Towers will only be able to request a roommate and have that roommate automatically move with them. In order to secure an entire four-person Twin Towers suite, please discuss with your group which room the initial party is attempting to secure and then reference the online floor plans to verify which suites are connected. You are unable to request a new incoming student to be your suitemate.

Example

In the example below you see that a requested roommate appears. If you have requested a roommate and they do not appear for you as in the example, your friend has not yet mutually requested you. When selecting a room, if you check the box that reads “Include Friend’s Name”, you will be able to bring that student into the room with you when you choose your room. Keep in mind that by selecting the roommate box, only rooms and halls for which you are both eligible will appear as an option. As an example, if you are admitted to the Honors College but your requested roommate is not, no rooms in Johnson or Stopher Hall will appear for you while you have your roommate selected. Additionally, you may find that when selecting your roommate, a room that previously showed as available for you may disappear. This may be caused by the fact that there is only one vacant bed and not the necessary two in the room that is required to pair you together.

Making Payment and if you miss contract renewal

The $200 Housing Pre-Payment

The $200 Housing Pre-Payment will secure a room for the 2018-2019 academic year. This payment is NOT a fee, nor is it a refundable security deposit. The $200 Housing Pre-Payment will be credited towards your fall housing charges and will be reflected on your Bursar’s statement as a credit. The $200 Housing Pre-Payment is due at the time of re-application. You will not be able to secure a specific housing assignment without first making payment, including a request of Same Hall/Same Room. If you decide to cancel your housing after May 1, the $200 Housing Pre-Payment will be forfeited. Students eligible to reside off-campus who re-contract through Contract Renewal may cancel the re-application in writing to Residence Services on or before 5:00pm May 1 for a refund of the $200 Housing Prepayment.

What happens if I miss the Contract Renewal Re-Application process?

Students required to live on campus who do not go through the online Contract Renewal Re-Application process and secure a room for 2018-2019, (by April 1, 2018 at 5:00pm), must re-apply for housing and pay the necessary $40 application fee. Should any students not identified as required to live on campus miss the Contract Renewal process, due to space constraints they may not be able to re-apply for housing. Students in this situation should check back with Residence Services in August to inquire about availability if still needing on campus housing and demand will be evaluated at that time.

Any student who goes through the Contract Renewal Re-Application process and successfully submits the application and makes the $200 Housing Pre-Payment but does not self-select a room by April 1, 2018 will be manually assigned a room by the Department of Residence Services.

Not returning for housing?

Do not assume that by not signing up for a residence hall room you will be exempt from living in the residence halls for the 2018-2019 academic year. Remember, you are required to live in the residence halls until you are 20 years old, have 60 credits at the start of the fall semester or have completed two years (four semesters) of living on campus. If you wish to live off campus but you are not otherwise eligible, you must apply for an exemption through the Department of Residence Services in Korb Hall. The exemption form may be found here. Depending on the reason for applying for an exemption, you may be asked to submit supporting documentation.

At the conclusion of the spring semester and end of contract renewal, any residence hall student who does not meet criteria to move off campus and did not secure a room or was not approved as a commuter student will have an ineligible hold placed on his/her student account, preventing registration until the student applies for housing or is exempted.